This study tests the Competing Systems Hypothesis (CSH) as applied to adult second language acquisition of aspect in Spanish. The CSH purports that differences among tutored and untutored learners result from competition between one system of underlying grammatical knowledge and another of learned metalinguistic knowledge in tutored learners…

This study builds on prior research on second language (L2) Spanish psych verbs, which has centered on morphosyntactic properties, by examining their syntactic distribution, which relies on lexical semantic knowledge. The fact that certain forms are licensed for some verbs, but not others, is the result of an underlying lexical semantic difference…

The present article focuses on data collection through web questionnaires, as opposed to the traditional pen-and-paper method for research in second language acquisition and bilingualism. It is argued that web questionnaires, which have been used quite widely in psychology, have the advantage of reaching out to a larger and more diverse pool of…

Most linguistic processes--acquisition, change, deterioration--take place in and are determined by a complex and multifactorial web of language internal and language external influences. This implies that the impact of each individual factor can only be determined on the basis of a careful consideration of its interplay with all other factors. The…

Responds to Gregg's discussion of the author's arguments on the nativism controversy. Addresses the issue of whether a theory of second language acquisition (SLA) must include a theory of grammar. Proposes that it remains to be decided whether a theory of SLA requires a theory of grammar. (four references) (CK)

Focuses on Eckman's (1996) discussion of the nativism controversy. This article supplements Eckman's discussion and argues in favor of a generative approach to second language acquisition theory, specifically for an autonomous and modular grammatical theory. (five references) (CK)

This study examined whether a younger starting age is advantageous in a situation of minimal exposure to an instructed foreign language ([less than or equal] 4 hours classroom contact per week). Previous theoretical and empirical studies indicated there should be no advantage for an earlier start. Japanese college students who started studying…

This article presents a case study of one English-speaking ab initio learner of German. It found that in target language production tasks performed over a two-year period, the subject exhibited a particular tendency toward lexical innovation as a strategy to cope with the lack of target language lexical knowledge. (38 references) (MDM)

This article assesses 1 individual's level of recall for Italian vocabulary learned 10 years previously using the keyword method. Without any revision, the subject remembered 35 percent of the test words with spelling fully correct and over 50 percent with only minor spelling errors. The effectiveness of the keyword method of vocabulary…

Discusses the importance of validating research data from questionnaires, exploring the difficulties presented in an attempt to validate questionnaire data regarding students' attitudes toward learning English in Japan. (Author/CB)

This article uses diary data to examine a British learner's self-study experience of Hungarian, with reference to lexis. From this learner's experience, it is suggested that building a working lexicon is the single most important task facing the learner. (40 references) (MDM)